


A Change in Plans

by slightlytookish



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: College, Crushes, Demisexuality, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Future Fic, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, School Reunion, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 17:45:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6763918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before his mission, Kevin had been very certain about his future. He'd had it all mapped out but then his mission happened and suddenly Kevin wasn't sure of anything, least of all what he wanted. All he knew when he returned home was that he needed to take all of those old plans and dreams and scrap them, and forge a new way for himself.</p><p>What Kevin <i>hadn't</i> expected was that new path to include pretending to be Connor McKinley's boyfriend at his high school reunion.</p><p>And yet, somehow, that's exactly what he ended up doing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Change in Plans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [phantomreviewer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomreviewer/gifts).



> Happy birthday to phantomreviewer! This was supposed to be about 2000 words of fluff and silliness, but then it grew, and became a little less silly (I think?), and then my laptop died and I thought I wouldn't finish it in time - but then I did! So, happy birthday :D Hope you have the best day! <3

Before his mission, Kevin had been very certain about his future. He'd had it all mapped out – he'd go on his mission and do something incredible, then come back home, go to college, do more incredible things there, establish himself in his career (he hadn't figured that one out exactly, but he'd been sure that it would, of course, be incredible), and live a life that would eventually lead him to Planet Orlando. Getting married and having lots of little Prices would fit into the plan somewhere, he'd assumed at the time, but that had been even more difficult for him to picture than his potential career. 

And then his mission happened and suddenly Kevin wasn't sure of anything, least of all what he wanted. He'd changed in Uganda – for the better, he liked to think, but it also meant that none of his old plans and expectations seemed to fit the Kevin Price that he was now. He'd learned not to think so far ahead, and the map he'd made for himself years ago no longer showed a route that he wished to travel.

He had two years to come to terms with that realization, so by the time he finished his mission and stepped off the plane in Salt Lake City last spring Kevin was certain of two things: that his decision to stay in Uganda had been the best and most important choice he'd ever made in his life, and that now he had to make an equally important decision. Only, he expected this one to be ongoing and to take time and probably involve lots of trial and error, because he needed to take all of those old plans and dreams he'd made before his mission and scrap them, and forge a new way for himself.

What Kevin _hadn't_ expected was that new path to include pretending to be Connor McKinley's boyfriend at his high school reunion.

And yet, somehow, that's exactly what he ended up doing.

*

"What's the point of having a reunion now anyway?" Connor said as Kevin studied the invitation. "Five years isn't a long time at all, and we're all on instagram and facebook so we already know way too much about each other's lives."

After a rocky start – some might have called it disastrous, but it had all worked out in the end, hadn't it? – Kevin had grown close to his fellow missionaries. Uganda was a unique experience and they'd all gone through so much together that it seemed impossible for them not to be good friends by the end of it. But whether they would continue to remain as close in the future was one of the things Kevin hadn't been entirely sure about when he'd finally returned home. 

He knew he didn't have to worry about losing touch with Arnold – there was no way either one of them would ever let that happen, even if they were going to different colleges in different states – but he and Arnold had also been the last ones to leave Uganda, the others all having completed their missions before they did. So, it had been a relief when Kevin finally logged onto his email from the comfort of his childhood bedroom and found a message from Elder McKinley, welcoming him home. That first email turned into a long string of emails, and texts, and skype sessions over the course of the summer, during which Elder McKinley became _Connor_ and the friendship that had started in Kitguli strengthened and grew. 

The fact that they'd be attending the same university in the fall, even if Kevin would be starting as a freshman (an almost _second semester_ freshman, as he liked to remind everyone - he may have changed in Uganda but his ambitious streak hadn’t abandoned him completely, and he'd taken a lot of AP classes in high school that he fully intended to put to use now) while Connor was already a sophomore, meant that they became even better friends long after the summer ended. 

(And it was at some point after the summer - he couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment - when Kevin realized that he actually had quite a large crush on Connor, but that was neither here nor there.

…It had just sort of snuck up on him, this crush. One moment Connor was simply a really good friend, second only to Arnold, and the next Kevin suddenly noticed that he was having some more-than-friendly thoughts about him. He'd catch himself thinking that the freckles on Connor's nose were pretty cute, or that Connor had really, really blue eyes that Kevin kind of wanted to stare into all day. Ridiculous thoughts, obviously, but Kevin was powerless to stop them, just as he couldn't keep his stomach from jumping a little every time he saw Connor, or spoke to him, or even whenever he got a text from him. Kevin wasn’t used to having this sort of reaction to Connor. He wasn’t used to having this sort of reaction to _anyone_.

Still, Kevin could handle it. _Was_ handling it. Honest.

And if handling it meant _completely ignoring it because if Connor felt the same way he'd say something, wouldn't he, because he was letting all his feelings out now and so Kevin really shouldn’t say anything that would embarrass them both and ruin their friendship and besides, crushes usually go away on their own eventually, right?_ , well, Kevin was doing a terrific job).

One perk of Connor being a sophomore meant that he was eligible to be an RA, and being an RA meant that he had one of the much-coveted single rooms - unlike Kevin, who liked his roommate well enough, even though the guy always seemed to be playing loud games on his phone whenever Kevin wanted to read or study. As a result, he tended to spend all of his free time in the library or in Connor's room whenever he wasn't busy with his RA duties. They were in his room now, one night midway through the spring semester, debating the merits of high school reunions. 

"I don't know," Kevin said, turning the invitation over. The other side had a collage of what appeared to be old yearbook photos, but he didn't see Connor in any of them. "I guess it could be kind of fun?"

Connor didn't stop his agitated pacing around the room. "I don't think five years would've changed the people I went to school with into people I'd actually want to spend time with." 

"Were they really that awful? All of them?"

Connor sighed and came to sit beside Kevin on the bed. "No, not all of them. I'm being unfair. I actually had a really good group of friends, it just took me some time to find them. Freshman year was pretty bleak. Most of sophomore year was, too," he admitted with a rueful grin. "But once I found them, things got better. Much better. We mostly kept to ourselves, but I guess that's what made us so close. And I still keep in touch with most of them, if you count facebook and stuff."

Kevin wasn't going to ask, really he wasn't, but apparently he had no control over his mouth. "Like Steve Blade?" he said nonchalantly. At least, he hoped he sounded nonchalant. 

(He was totally handling his crush).

Connor blinked; he seemed taken aback by the question. "Steve? Oh, we didn't go to high school together, he moved away about a year before. I haven't heard from him in a long time… gosh, it must be about eight years, now. I'm surprised you even remembered him."

Kevin shrugged, still trying his best to seem casual. "One of the first things you did when we met was tell me all about Steve Blade so I guess it stood out in my mind?"

"Yes, well, that was a long time ago," Connor said, suddenly looking flustered. He nudged Kevin in the side. "I bet you were really popular in high school."

And it was true, ever since kindergarten Kevin had gotten along with everyone, even the really cliquey kids who never really talked to anyone outside of their own group. He'd always had lots of friends, and high school was no exception. But he'd never been particularly _close_ to any of them - he’d never had a best friend, before Arnold - and they'd all grown apart pretty quickly after graduation. At the time Kevin had been too focused on his upcoming mission to be much bothered by that, but now that he had real friends in his life he could see what he'd been missing all along. "I suppose I was." 

"Let me guess, were you homecoming king? Prom king?" Connor narrowed his eyes and peered closely at him, and Kevin felt his face growing warm under his scrutiny. "You were probably in student government too, weren't you?"

"Class president," Kevin admitted. "And homecoming king, yeah. Not prom king, though. I didn't go to my prom." 

"Didn't go to your prom!" For someone who had apparently spent half of his high school years miserable, and who still loathed many of his old classmates, Connor certainly sounded shocked. "Even I went to mine. Why didn't you go?"

"I just never wanted to, I guess. I was already really focused on my mission and there was no one I wanted to ask anyway, so I just… didn't." In high school Kevin hadn't been interested in anyone romantically; he hadn't been interested in anyone ever until this whole thing had started with Connor, actually. Years ago he hadn't thought it was strange, not even when all of his classmates started pairing off, he'd just thought it meant that he was devout and dedicated and the perfect Mormon – when he thought about it at all, which was rare. It was something he'd been thinking about more often now, for obvious Connor-related reasons. It was just one of so many things that had changed.

"To be honest, you didn't miss very much," Connor said. "At least, my prom didn't live up to the hype. I had fun, and I'm glad I went, but it wasn't how they make it seem in the movies."

"Who did you go with?" There was actually a little knot in Kevin's stomach as he asked, because he was truly ridiculous.

"My friend Kayleigh." He hesitated, as if he was debating whether to say more, and then finally decided to go for it. "I _may_ have let my parents think she was my girlfriend. It made them super happy for a while until they realized it was a total farce and I hadn't actually gotten that good at turning it off."

"How long did you let that go on for?"

"Um… most of senior year, actually."

"Wow. I guess they didn't take it too well when they found out?"

"They were less than thrilled, as you can imagine. But by then high school was over and I was getting ready to go on my mission, so I think at that point my parents were just eager to get rid of me, and I was just as eager to go." 

And that was just… horrible. Kevin couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of parents who looked forward to 'getting rid' of their children, and he wasn't sure if the fact that Connor said it so matter-of-factly made it better or worse. 

"It'd be nice to see Kayleigh again, we always try to hang out whenever I'm home, which isn't very often," Connor said. "And it would be nice to spend some time with my other friends, especially the ones I never really get to see. But I'm just not in a hurry to see everyone else again any time soon. Some of them really were terrible people. I mean, Kevin, if your high school has a five year reunion next year, will you actually go?"

"Maybe? I haven't really thought about it."

Connor plucked the invitation out of Kevin's hands and tossed it onto his desk; his room was small enough that he didn't have to throw it very far. "Well, the only way I'd go to mine is if I had a hot boyfriend to show off, and since he doesn't exist I guess I'm not going."

And then, because not only had he lost control over his mouth but over his good sense, too, Kevin said, "I'm free that weekend."

Connor stared at him in disbelief. Kevin quickly backtracked.

"Not that I'm saying I'm hot or anything, or your boyfriend, _obviously_ , because we're not… you know… but I figured, if that's the only thing stopping you from going…" Kevin let himself trail off, and in the silence that followed he wondered if he should just get up and leave Connor's room right now, as rude as that would seem. 

Connor recovered first. "It's not like you to be shy, Kevin," he said, and his voice had a teasing note in it that made Kevin release a breath he hadn't known he was holding. They were going to be okay, his momentary lapse in judgment notwithstanding. He hadn't just thrown away a good friendship because of… whatever he'd just suggested. What had he been thinking, anyway?

"But we both know you're not terrible to look at – and it's not like you to be modest, either – so what exactly are you saying?"

The foolish and very traitorous part of Kevin that had made the suggestion in the first place wondered, _did Connor really just call me hot?_ , which would have been interesting to consider at any other time, but, well, it was kind of embarrassing to talk about a friend's attractiveness, wasn't it? And it was Kevin's own suggestion that had probably made Connor feel that he _had_ to say something like that, as if he'd been fishing for compliments or something. No wonder Connor was looking at him so oddly.

"Well," he said, taking a deep breath. At least he could try to explain and hopefully make things better. "I just meant, if you really did want to go to your class reunion and sort of, uh, _pretend_ that you have a boyfriend, I wouldn't mind helping you. Pretend, that is. Which… sounds kind of weird when I say it but you know what I mean."

Connor looked like he was caught somewhere between laughter and complete shock. Kevin could relate because he felt exactly the same, only with an added dash of total panic.

"That's a very generous offer, Kevin, but… I guess I don't know why you'd even want to do this?"

"For you." Connor looked at him strangely again, and Kevin rushed to explain. "It just sounded like you didn't always have the best time in high school so I figured you could make a new, hopefully better memory to – well, not replace the bad ones completely, but at least give you something nicer to remember?"

"You'd really be okay with this? Some people might not be very nice about it, you know, if we showed up as a couple. Er, a pretend couple."

"Hey, we stood up to the General. We've got this. And why wouldn't I be okay? It's basically just hanging out with you, when you think about it, and I already like doing that. Besides, the last time I visited Wyoming was when I was eleven. It might be fun to go back." 

He didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or Connor; Connor, at least, still seemed uncertain. But then Connor's lips twitched in what might have been the beginnings of a smile and Kevin thought that, maybe, he'd managed to convince them both. 

"You and Arnold stood up to the General, I didn't do anything. But I suppose…" Connor trailed off, looking thoughtful. Kevin waited.

"Just... don't expect something amazing. The reunion's in the school gym just like every single bad dance we ever had. I can't believe they didn't try to find a nicer location. Actually, I'm not surprised at all. I'm more surprised that I'm letting you talk me into this." He shook his head but this time there was no doubt about it; Connor was smiling, warm and genuine and just for him, and all Kevin could do was smile back.

*

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, that was Kevin's only explanation.

"Let me get this straight," Arnold said later, when Kevin was back in his room, his phone pressed to his ear. Luckily his roommate wasn't there, so he had free reign to pace anxiously in the narrow space between their beds. "You're basically in love with Connor – no, buddy, you know I'm right, let me finish – and you've been trying to pretend that you're _not_ in love with him for months now, and for some reason you thought it'd be a good idea to volunteer to be his fake boyfriend at a class reunion this summer?"

Well. When Arnold put it like that… "That about sums it up," Kevin said weakly. 

Arnold was silent. Worryingly so, because Arnold was never really _quiet_. Kevin winced. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"No," Arnold said just a moment too late.

Kevin let himself drop onto his bed and barely resisted the urge to mash his face into his pillow. "I am an idiot. You can say it."

Arnold hummed noncommittally. 

"I just wanted to cheer Connor up, you know?" Kevin said, standing again. He'd never really been the type to wallow; Kevin had always been the type to charge ahead and _do something_ , even if that something was a terrible idea. See: every decision he'd made during his first week in Uganda. He may have changed, but that much remained the same. Clearly, his self-preservation instincts still needed some work. "He said that a lot of his old classmates were horrible, I think they must have picked on him or something, but then he also talked about his old friends and I could tell that he missed them a lot. And I just thought it'd be pretty neat if he could catch up with them at the reunion and just – you know, stick it to those mean people who never liked him. Show them that he's happy now."

"Aww! See, this is why you're my best friend, you're always trying to help people."

"Yeah, well, I guess I didn't really think this one through."

"No, wait, it could totally work!" Arnold said. "It'll be like you're a cool undercover agent, and your mission is to make all the villains jealous by being Connor's mysterious date. Well, mysterious fake date. Which you can't tell anyone about, so you'll have to pretend you're not pretending, because if anyone _did_ find out it would be really embarrassing for Connor and you'd have to obliviate everyone's memories."

"I'm getting a headache," Kevin said, closing his eyes. Arnold was quiet again, either out of consideration for Kevin’s aching head or because he was daydreaming about secret agents (Kevin strongly suspected that it was the latter). 

"Hey, Kev?" Arnold said a moment later, sounding almost tentative. That was unusual for him, normally he just barreled ahead even when it meant that he was creating his own offshoot religion. Kevin braced himself for whatever was coming next. "You know how secret agents wear disguises and drive cool cars and have all kinds of gadgets and things?"

"I'm not wearing a fake mustache, Arnold, if that's what you're thinking-"

"I know, I know! But I was just thinking about all the stuff secret agents do and… maybe you'll get to kiss Connor! You know, to make it look really convincing? And then _maybe_ -"

"No way." Kevin didn't want that at all, not if it was just pretend. Not if, when it was over, he'd have to go back to pretending that it had meant nothing. He really hadn't thought this through at all.

"But-" 

"No," Kevin said firmly. "I'm sure we'll find some other way to make it seem real."

He just hoped that he was right.

*

"So," Kevin said, after finals were over and they were getting ready to head home for the summer. Soon they'd be limited to texting and skyping each other but some things were better said in person, he thought, even if it had taken him this long to work up the nerve. "What exactly will we have to do to make it seem like we're a couple? At the reunion, I mean."

"We probably won't have to do much," Connor said, struggling to close a suitcase. It was his old pink one from Uganda, and it had obviously seen much better days. The fact that it was bulging with far more clothing than the few uniforms he'd brought on his mission wasn't exactly helping the situation. Kevin came over to help and between the two of them they managed to zip it, though it looked like it was in danger of exploding at any moment. "I think people will believe whatever we tell them, and as long as we stick together the whole time I don't see why any of them would even think to question it."

Kevin tried to think about other happy couples – not that he and Connor were actually a couple, of course not – and what they did aside from all the kissing, which he was determinedly _not_ thinking about. They spent an awful lot of time cuddling, didn't they? Kevin didn't object to that in principle but he wasn't sure if he'd want to in front of so many people, even if those people were strangers to him. Hugging would be okay, though, and holding hands - huh. That would be okay, too. "Shouldn't we at least hold hands or something?"

"I suppose we could, but I'm sure everyone will be much more interested in meeting you than in seeing what we're doing with our hands. Um." There was a folded blanket on his bed that obviously hadn't made it into his suitcase and Connor busied himself with re-folding it now, suddenly looking flustered. "Anyway, I know you don't really like being touched so I'm not expecting us to do anything like that."

"Wait, what?" Kevin couldn't help feeling a little taken aback. It was true, but he always thought he'd done a pretty good job of hiding it, of not obviously shying away from people even when he wanted to. It wasn't like it happened all the time, or with everyone, after all. Just… a lot of the time, and often with people he was close to, even though he wished that it didn't. But no one had ever acknowledged it before, at least not to him directly. "How did you know that?" 

Connor finally left off trying to make perfect folds in the blanket and turned to him, frowning in disapproval. "Kevin Price, how long have we known each other?" He was even using his old district leader voice, and for a moment Kevin almost thought they were back in Uganda. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't know that about you?"

Friend. Right. Kevin needed to remember that. But the thing was, he'd never shied away from Connor before. And he didn't think to do it, now. "I wouldn't mind it," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I said I–" But if some things were better said in person, others were better shown, weren't they? So he reached for Connor's hand instead - moving slowly, because Connor looked a little startled - but then, it was no wonder that he seemed surprised, because Kevin never did anything like this. He'd never wanted to, before - well, before Connor. "I don't mind."

"Well," Connor said after a moment, his voice light. "I don't mind either." He didn't pull away.

And it was strange, holding hands, but it didn't feel _wrong_. It probably should have felt weirder than it did, Kevin supposed, but it felt - good. Connor's hand was warm and soft and fit so nicely in Kevin's, and Kevin really didn't want to let go even though he knew that he had to, and that he should, right now. He had a feeling that if he kept at it any longer he wouldn't be able to let go, and it would be very embarrassing to try and explain that.

The boxes lined up by the door were a convenient distraction. "Do you want some help moving those?" he asked, pulling his hand away, and told himself that it was silly to feel disappointed when Connor said that he did, and the moment passed.

(He thought he could still feel the warmth of Connor's hand even as he helped carry the boxes downstairs, and Kevin told himself that that was silly, too).

*

"So, this is it, huh?" Kevin said, slowing down to a crawl in front of Connor's old high school to get a good look at it. It looked about as impressive as Kevin's old school, which was to say, not very much. Even the balloons in school colors out front looked a little droopy already, and the reunion wasn't for a few hours yet. "How does it feel to be back?"

"I haven't decided yet," Connor admitted. He leaned over to look past Kevin and out of the window, and was generally very close and warm in a way that made Kevin focus determinedly on the empty road before them. 

"It looks the same. I don't know what I was expecting, really. It's only been five years," Connor said at last. He pushed his sunglasses further up his nose and settled back into his own seat, but not without poking Kevin in the side. "But so far being back is better than I expected, since you're here."

Kevin smiled as he sped up, leaving the school behind. "You're just trying to butter me up for later, to make sure I act like a super awesome fake boyfriend in front of your old friends. I see how it is." 

"I was going to promise to buy you coffee afterwards, but if that's all it takes, I'm not going to complain," Connor said, and Kevin grinned all the way to the hotel. 

(Back when they were still figuring out the logistics for this weekend Kevin had asked, just in passing, if they'd be visiting Connor's parents while they were in town. 

Connor had seemed genuinely perplexed by the thought. "Do you honestly want to go through the whole meet the parents thing when you're not even in a real relationship? More specifically, do you seriously want to go through that with _my_ parents?"

"I guess… not?"

"I was actually hoping to avoid them completely." Connor must have noticed Kevin's hastily-concealed look of surprise because he added, "It's not that my family and I don't get along at all. We do. It's just, we get along much better when we don't actually see too much of each other."

Well, that explained why Connor was planning on spending most of the summer with Poptarts' family in Idaho, Kevin supposed. It didn't make it any less sad, though - Kevin couldn't imagine a situation like that with his own family - but he knew better than to say anything.

After that, Kevin let Connor make all the arrangements for their trip. It really was for the best).

The hotel was small and on the outskirts of the town, but it was clean and their tiny room still managed to have two beds crammed inside, because pretending to be boyfriends only went so far. They killed some time watching TV for a while ("It'd be pretty neat to go on a road trip someday, imagine doing a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives kind of thing, that would be fun-" "Kevin, you are the fussiest eater I've ever met and you'd hate most of these places-" "So we'll just go to the _good_ ones") before Connor started getting restless.

"I think I'll start getting ready now, I know it's early, but I can't stand all this waiting around," Connor said, jumping up to rummage through his bag.

Kevin muted the TV. "Getting nervous?"

"Of course not, there's nothing to be nervous about," Connor said briskly as he set out his shower things. "Mostly I just want to get on with it already. Not to mention, some of that food looks disgraceful. I don't know how you can watch this show."

"And you said I'm a picky eater," Kevin called after him as Connor headed to the bathroom.

"You are. I just want my food to look like it's actually edible, there's a difference. Just remember that when you're planning our road trip," he said over his shoulder before shutting the door.

"Our road trip," Kevin said to the empty room. "Huh." And then louder, so Connor could hear him through the door, "How would you feel about a road trip to Orlando?"

The door opened and Connor poked his head out into the main room, looking thoughtful. "Since I can't trust you to pick out something good to watch on TV-"

"Hey!"

"-I'd say yes, it sounds like a fun idea, if a little long, but I'll only do it if I get to pick out the music." The door closed again, and if Kevin's heart was beating a little faster as he unmuted the TV, well, no one else was around to hear it.

*

When they went back to the high school this time, the road was far from deserted; they were near the end of a long line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot and since Connor had wanted to drive this time, Kevin had plenty of opportunity to see the faint line between Connor's brows grow deeper and deeper as the car inched forward. 

"Okay, fine, I'm a little nervous now," he said, smiling thinly when he noticed Kevin looking. "Just until I see a familiar face – Kayleigh or Grant or Josh or one of the others."

"I thought _I_ was supposed to be the familiar face," Kevin said. He absolutely wasn't pouting.

"Your face is the best face," Connor said, patting him on the arm, and Kevin tried not to preen too much.

Best face or not, no one paid any attention to either one of them as they parked and headed inside. "Well, here we are," Connor said, pausing just outside the door. He looked resigned. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, actually. 

"Hey." Connor looked up, questioningly, as Kevin reached for his hand and tugged him out of doorway. Despite the warmth of the day, Connor's hand felt chilly in his own, but his fingers immediately curled around Kevin's and he held on tight. "Everything's going to be fine."

"Is it? Because I'm starting to feel like I shouldn't have come here."

"That's just the nerves talking. You look great-" Connor blinked at him but it was true, he really did look great in his grey suit and Kevin could say that without it sounding weird, couldn't he? "-and you're going to see all of your friends, and you're going to have a great time, and screw anyone who doesn't like that."

Connor's expression brightened. "Thanks, I think I needed to hear that. And you know, you don't look so bad yourself." With his free hand he reached up to straighten Kevin's tie, and Kevin felt his fingers lightly brush against his throat. They were gone in a second, but Kevin's skin went on tingling.

"Ready?" Connor said, smiling up at him.

"Um, sure," Kevin said, swallowing heavily, and allowed Connor to lead the way inside. 

They were definitely getting some stares now, but Connor didn't falter. Kevin had never been more proud of him, and he'd have to tell him later; he couldn't right now because someone suddenly ran over and launched herself at Connor.

"I didn't think you'd really make it," she was saying, and Connor had to let go of Kevin's hand to hug her back and keep his balance, or else they would've all ended up crashing to the floor. 

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but you always promise to visit during your breaks and you hardly ever do, so I didn't believe it," she said, pulling away and noticing Kevin standing there. "Who's this?"

"This is Kevin. Kevin, this is Kayleigh." Connor reached for Kevin's hand without even looking, and the gesture was so natural that it made Kevin's stomach clench in disappointment, knowing it wasn't real. 

It had the opposite reaction on Kayleigh, whose eyes lit up. "Oh, _you're_ Kevin?" she said knowingly. " _The_ Kevin? From Connor's mission?"

"Yes?" Kevin glanced over at Connor, who suddenly looked anxious. And that didn't make sense because hadn't he said that Kayleigh was one of his best friends from high school? At a loss, Kevin shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." 

"You too," she said, shooting Connor a grin. "I've heard so much about you."

"You have?" Kevin hadn't thought to ask Connor what he'd told people about him, and they really should've gone over it together thoroughly, to make sure their stories aligned. All they'd worked out was what to tell people when they inevitably asked when they'd gotten together - _when Kevin came back from his mission_ was vague enough and true enough, in a way, to serve as an answer - but aside from that Kevin was beginning to feel a little lost. 

"Yes, Connor said you were – ow!" 

"I'm so sorry," Connor said, looking sheepish for having stepped on her foot. "Where's Dylan?"

"He went to get us something to drink – Dylan's my husband," she added for Kevin's benefit. "I know! Why don't you two find a table and we'll all catch up?"

"Great," Connor said, looking as if it was anything but great as he tugged Kevin over to the nearest empty table.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Connor replied, but he was jiggling his leg, which he only ever did when he was worried about something. Kevin didn't have time to ask him anything else before Kayleigh returned with Dylan in tow.

Introductions were made, and as Kevin was making small talk with Dylan he couldn't help noticing that Connor and Kayleigh were having a hurried, whispered discussion out of the corner of his eye. They didn't seem to be arguing, though, and he didn't want to eavesdrop so he turned his attention back to Dylan.

"No, I've never really played golf," he was telling Dylan when the others finally joined their conversation. "I've always loved mini golf, though..."

"If you let Dylan talk to you about golf, he'll never stop," Kayleigh said, smiling at her husband before turning to Kevin. "But Kevin, I wanted to hear more about you. I've heard so much already from Connor. You had a very interesting mission, didn't you? Did your companion really try to start his own church?"

 _Well, that explains it_ , Kevin thought. Whenever he met people who'd heard about his mission, even in the vaguest of terms, they always wanted to hear all about Arnold. That was what happened when your mission companion became a prophet, Kevin supposed. Connor still looked tense as Kevin explained that, yes, the Book of Arnold was something they'd written during their mission and that it was a… modern interpretation of the text that used pop culture and contemporary references to get the message across. And yes, frogs had played an important role, oddly enough. Yes, really. Frogs. 

Luckily Kayleigh and Dylan weren't horribly offended; they were more curious than anything else, and seemed to be amused by some of Kevin's wilder stories of their time in Uganda (the ones that were tame enough to be told to strangers, that is, which admittedly omitted quite a few of the really good ones, like the entirety of Nabulungi's play). Beside him he could feel Connor starting to relax, and when he finally began chipping in and telling some of his own stories Kevin felt himself relax, too. 

More and more of Connor's old friends came to sit with them until the table grew so crowded that they had to go and borrow chairs from other tables. They all seemed to come in pairs, Connor's old friends – Grant-and-Callie, Lisa-and-Josh; Kevin could see now why Connor hadn't just come to the reunion alone, but he could also see why he'd wanted to come back to see them at all. They were all so kind and welcoming to Kevin, and not the least bit judgmental about his and Connor's (perceived) relationship. It didn't take Kevin long to notice how they'd closed ranks around them, effectively keeping out the people who were staring or whispering or sending dirty looks in their direction. But no one said anything, no one even tried to approach them, and when Kevin leaned over and whispered that to Connor, Connor had nodded and said that it seemed almost all of the old bullies hadn't come to the reunion at all. Which was a wonderful thing, but it also didn't diminish what his old friends were doing for them. Kevin felt a rush of affection for them, for accepting him into their group just like that, and for making Connor smile and laugh more and more as the night wore on. Connor hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that they were a good group.

And just like Connor had predicted, he and Kevin didn't have to do all that much to convince everyone that they were a couple. Holding hands or occasionally wrapping an arm around one another's shoulders seemed to do all the work for them, and Kevin soon lost count of the number of times that one of Connor's friends said that they made a cute couple, or that they looked so happy together, or just smiled in their direction. Still, he tried to play his part well and made an effort to act like a good boyfriend, or at least how he _thought_ a good boyfriend should act, and so he fetched drinks for Connor and pulled out his chair for him. His parents had raised him well, after all, and maybe Kevin hadn't ever been in a relationship before but he still knew how he'd act if he were in one for real. 

What he hadn't been prepared for, however, was Connor's reaction to these small gestures. The first few times Connor had looked surprised, though he covered it up quickly enough so that the others didn't notice. But sometimes he caught Connor looking at him strangely and seeming… content, Kevin thought, but not exactly. He couldn't quite place it. And he hadn't been prepared for Connor telling everyone how wonderful he was either - how thoughtful, and kind, and smart, and caring he was, all the kinds of compliments that Kevin normally would love to hear about himself, only, now he felt himself flush because in this context it made him and Connor seem like… a couple. A real couple. Which he supposed was the point, and Connor was one of his best friends and hopefully already thought all of that stuff about him _anyway_ , but that still didn't make it any easier to hear. 

And it didn't make him feel any less guilty for lying to all of Connor's friends, who smiled and "aww"-ed in all the right places, even though he'd probably never see any of them ever again. He hadn't expected that, either.

*

It was getting late but the reunion was still going strong when Connor tugged on his hand – Kevin hadn't even realized that they _were_ holding hands just now, how strange – and said, "Mind if we leave soon?"

"That's fine with me." All of this was for Connor, and Kevin didn't mind how long or little they stayed. He'd leave it to him. "Is something wrong? I thought you were having fun."

Connor leaned his head against Kevin's shoulder and sighed. "I am, and nothing's wrong. I guess I'm just feeling a little tired. This has been great and everything but it's just… so much, you know?"

Kevin thought he did know, but maybe not in the way Connor meant it; his head was still resting on Kevin's shoulder, and it was all Kevin could do not to lean over and kiss the top of his head, or hold him close, or do something equally foolish. Of course, he could do it and no one would think it was weird - out of the corner of his eye he could see Kayleigh smiling at them again across the table - but Connor would probably think it was strange, coming from him, and how would Kevin explain it to him later? 

He sighed and tapped his thumb against the back of Connor's hand. "Want to go home right now?"

And of course that was just as ridiculous, they weren't going _home_ , but Connor either didn't notice or didn't mind. He seemed more grateful than anything else; he perked up noticeably as they took their leave of everyone, which took a while, and Kevin felt guiltier than ever for lying when Dylan offered to take him golfing the next time he and Connor visited. Leaving the reunion now really was for the best. 

Outside the night had grown cool. Kevin swung their clasped hands a little as they walked; he didn't know why they were still holding hands, now that no one was there to observe them, but he wasn't about to complain. "So. Are you happy? You seemed to be having a good time back there."

"I did," Connor said. "And I am happy. You were right, I'm glad I didn't skip this."

"I'm always right," Kevin replied. "Everyone's lives would be 100% better if they just listened to me from the beginning."

"Hey now, don't get carried away," Connor said, but he was smiling. "Thanks again for coming. I wouldn't have had as much fun if you hadn't been here."

"You keep selling yourself short," Kevin said. "You would've been fine on your own, Connor. You didn't need me here."

"I know," Connor said. "But I _wanted_ you here."

He fell silent then, looking away, and after a moment Kevin bumped shoulders with him. "Well, I had fun too. More fun than I expected to have, actually. Your friends are really nice." 

"They are pretty great," Connor said, smiling again. Maybe it had never gone away. "I'm glad everyone got along."

"It'd be hard not to get along with them. I've got to say though, I felt kind of guilty lying to all of them."

The smile slipped off Connor's face. "Yeah. Me too." 

Kevin had been so distracted by the conversation that he only just realized that they'd passed the parking lot and were heading towards the field behind it. They probably played soccer here, Kevin thought idly, and lacrosse; it couldn't be the football field, that was a little further away, all lit up even though there wasn't a game. 

He would have turned back and headed towards the car if Connor hadn't stopped, their still-clasped hands pulling him to a stop too. "Kevin," Connor said, his voice halting, uncertain. "What if – what if it wasn't a lie?"

Kevin's heart skipped a beat, and then started racing. "What?"

"I-" Connor took a deep breath and turned to him, looking determined. "I like you, Kevin. A lot. I have for a while, since Uganda, actually. That's why I was so nervous around Kayleigh earlier. I told her all about you when I came home from Uganda, never thinking – well, never thinking that you two would ever meet, or that you'd ever pretend to be my boyfriend and come to my class reunion. And I know I never should've agreed to any of this because it's – it's just not fair to either of us, really, to pretend like none of this matters when it does. At least, it does to me."

Kevin's heart was beating so loudly now that he was surprised Connor couldn't hear it. "And me."

"What?"

"And me," Kevin said, louder this time. Connor was staring at him incredulously, as if he couldn't believe what Kevin was saying. "Connor, I – if you shouldn’t have agreed to it, then I never should have suggested it, not when I've had a crush on you for months now." 

"You have?" Connor's voice was very faint, and he searched Kevin's face for - something, Kevin didn't know, but Connor must have found what he was looking for because he smiled, sudden and bright. "Why didn't either of us ever say anything?"

There was so much Kevin could say to that - that he'd never been sure that Connor felt the same, that it had taken him ages to recognize his own feelings and what they meant in the first place, that he'd never felt like that for anyone before Connor, but he didn't know how to explain any of this, not when he still didn't really understand all of it himself. Someday, he would try to explain - he had a feeling that Connor would be understanding - but for now he blurted, "Can I kiss you?"

Connor tugged Kevin down by his tie and kissed him in response. It was the briefest of kisses, not much more than the brushing of their lips before Connor pulled away, looking at him closely. "Is that okay?" 

He seemed concerned that Kevin would actually say no, even when he'd been the one to ask, and so kissing Connor again seemed like the best possible way to answer. His instincts were proven right when Connor pulled him closer and kissed him properly this time, one hand landing on Kevin's shoulder and the other slipping back to settle in his hair. He tasted like the Shirley Temples Kevin had been getting for him all night, and Kevin found himself smiling against Connor's lips. He was too happy to not to, even if it did mess up the kiss and make them both break apart, laughing.

Connor didn't seem to mind, though, and he was still grinning even as he kissed Kevin again. After all, they had plenty of time to get it right.


End file.
